Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 4/18/16

 

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PITCHER

Noah Syndergaard FD 11300 DK 12100
Opponent - PHI (Eickhoff) Park - @PHI
FD - 37.46 DK - 20.79

Syndergaard absolutely dominated the Marlins last time out with a stat line of 7 innings and 12 strikeouts. I look for Syndergaard to do more of the same tonight against an equally poor right handed heavy Phillies team. The Phillies have struggled againt righties to start the year and there is no reason to believe they will get any better. Here is a pretty cool fact, Thor has already thrown more 97+ MPH pitches this year than 14 teams did in 2015. Syndergaard has dominated both sides of the plate as shown by his abilty to keep his wOBA under .300. I am comfortable with Noah "Thor" Syndergaard in all formats.

Jose Fernandez FD 10700 DK 11300
Opponent - WSH (Roark) Park - @MIA
FD - 42.51 DK - 24.21

If you are playing on a 1 pitcher site like FanDuel, you are going to have to make a difficult choice between Syndergaard and Fernandez. For me personally, I will have Syndergaard in cash and both of them in tournaments. Fernandez is in a spot here where he needs a couple things to break for him and if they do, he will have a huge night. First of all, he needs to limit Bryce Harper. The way you can do this is to keep guys off base in front of him and just pitch around him. I think Fernandez can get that done. Second, Fernandez will need to keep his fastball under control. This Nationals team is one that can hit fastballs very well but can also struggle is they are placed well in the zone. I look for Fernandez to have a boom or bust performance with a better boom chance.

Consider - Phil Hughes

CATCHER

Miguel Montero FD 2900 DK 3400
Opponent - STL (Leake) Park - @STL
FD - 2.05 DK - 1.62

I made a little mistake yesterday and put Montero here even though Lester was pitching. However, in the future do not assume Ross will catch for Lester every time out. Montero caught Lester plenty of times last year, including the 1 hit game. Today the Cubbies will be flying over to St. Louis and taking on Mike Leake. Montero has hit righties very well in his career with a 136 wRC+. Leake is an average pitcher that can be taken advantage of with good lefties.

Jonathan Lucroy FD 2800 DK 3600
Opponent - MIN (Hughes) Park - @MIN
FD - 10.1 DK - 8.09

Catcher is a very weak position tonight and Lucroy is one of the better pure hitters at the position. Phil Hughes is a pitcher who has reverse splits which means he is worse vs righties. Hughes sported a .369 wOBA against righties last season and his peripherals suggest that was accurate. Lucroy is an average hitter against righties evidenced by his career 104 wRC+. I prefer Lucroy in tournaments as he provides a nice power punch.

 

FIRST BASE

Hanley Ramirez FD 2900 DK 4300
Opponent - TOR (Happ) Park - @BOS
FD - 11.75 DK - 9.33

HanRam will finally be taking on a bad lefty that struggles against lefties. J.A Happ has exhibited a .330 wOBA to righties in 2015 and his peripherals suggest he will have an even worse year in 2016. This ballpark ranked 3rd among all ballparks in the majors last season for hitters, which only adds to the appeal. Ramirez hit for a 137 wRC+ and .383 wOBA over the course of his career against lefties. Happ is a contact pitcher and Ramirez is someone who has a huge strikeout problem. This will lead to Hanley putting the bat on the ball and getting 4 opportunities to hit one out of Fenway. Ramirez is more of a tournament play for me as he is pretty reliant on power at this point in his career.

Joey Votto FD 3900 DK 4600
Opponent - COL (Lyles) Park - @CIN
FD - 15.01 DK - 11.58

Votto is my favorite cash game play tonight as he is as consistent as it gets and has as much upside as anyone. Jordan Lyles is a right hander who has struggled mightily against lefties throughout his career with a .357 wOBA. While you might assume this is because of Coors Field, he has actually been worse on the road. In 2015, Lyles exhibited a .380 wOBA vs lefties on the road. Votto has obliterated right handed pitching throughout his career with a combined wOBA of .413 lifetime vs righties.

Consider - Albert Pujols, Jose Abreu, Ji-Man Choi
 

SECOND BASE

Brett Lawrie FD 2600 DK 3900
Opponent - LAA (Santiago) Park - @CHW
FD - 10.52 DK - 8.37

Brett Lawrie has hit lefties pretty nicely throughout his career with a wOBA of .326 and a wRC+ of 105. While Santiago is an above average pitcher, he has struggled keeping the ball in the yard against righties. In 2015, Hector Santiago gave up a .323 wOBA and an astounding 26 homers to righties! The most in the entire league. Lawrie is a great tournament play as he will be under owned and has a great chance to hit one out tonight.

Dustin Pedroia FD 2900 DK 4300
Opponent - TOR (Happ) Park - @BOS
FD - 2.37 DK - 1.9

Now on to my favorite cash game 2nd baseman, Dustin Pedroia. I won't go into the reasoning as to why the Red Sox righties are in a good spot as you are a smart person and don't need to read the same thing 3 times over. Pedroia has sported a career wOBA of .372 against lefties and has shown so signs of slowing down. I do not mind stacking the Red Sox here in both cash games and tournaments.

Consider - Scooter Gennett, Dee Gordon, Joe Panik

 

SHORTSTOP

Xander Bogaerts FD 4200 DK 4300
Opponent - TOR (Happ) Park - @BOS
FD - 11.37 DK - 9.15

Xander Bogaerts has only been in the majors for 1 whole season but has already proved his worth against left handed pitchers. Bogaerts exhibited a .385 wOBA and 145 wRC+ against lefties in 2015. J.A Happ is a bad lefty that has trouble keeping the ball in play. Bogaerts is a great play in both cash games and tournaments.

Eduardo Nunez FD 2700 DK 3500
Opponent - MIL (Anderson) Park - @MIN
FD - 10.74 DK - 8.74

Eduardo Nunez has been on fire lately with 3 games over 20 FD points in the last 5. Nunez is a righty that is actually better against righties with a .321 wOBA. Nunez also has much more stolen base upside when facing a righty as it is much easier to steal on a righty than a southpaw. I am comfortable with Nunez in all formats.

Consider - Zack Cozart, Trevor Story

 

THIRD BASE

Todd Frazier FD 3700 DK 4500
Opponent - LAA (Santiago) Park - @CHW
FD - 12.66 DK - 9.94

Todd Frazier is my pick for homer of the day, no doubt. As mentioned above, Santiago gave up the home runs in the majors last year against righties. Frazier has shown some immense power vs lefties in the past with a .608 SLG in 2015. Frazier will be hitting in a great hitters park and should be able to get one out. Let's hope!

Matt Carpenter FD 4300 DK 4100
Opponent - CHC (Lackey) Park - @STL
FD - 9.63 DK - 7.6

Carpenter has been on fire lately with 5 games over 20 FDP in his last 10. Lackey is not a pitcher to scare me off as he gave up a .326 wOBA to lefties just last year. Carpenter on the other hand, has dominated righties with a .350+ combined wOBA over the past few seasons. Carpenter is a terrific cash game play as he will give you 4 great at-bats.

Consider - Kris Bryant

 

OUTFIELD

Mike Trout FD 4700 DK 4600
Opponent - CHW (Rodon) Park - @CHW
FD - 15.29 DK - 12.34

Mike Trout has absolutely obliterated lefties throughout his career and will certainly continue to do so. Trout hit lefties to an astounding 185 wRC+ clip. While Rodon is a pretty good pitcher, he struggled mightily to righties last season with a .350 wOBA. This is also a ballpark bump as U.S. Cellular is a very hitter friendly park. I look for Trout to get a hold of one today against Rodon.

Mookie Betts FD 4200 DK 5300
Opponent - TOR (Happ) Park - @BOS
FD - 12.77 DK - 10.23

Mookie Betts is a player I love to roster as it seems like he is always in the middle of the Red Sox scoring punch. Today the Red Sox are taking on a very exploitable lefty in J.A. Happ. Happ has given up a career .330 wOBA to righties and has also given up 99 home runs to them. Betts has hit lefties very well in his young career with 125 wRC+. I look for Happ to give up his 100th career home run to a righty today, and it just may come off of Betts bat. I am comfortable with Betts in both tournaments and cash games.

Jay Bruce FD 3800 DK 4200
Opponent - COL (Lyles) Park - @CIN
FD - 12.92 DK - 10.11

Jay Bruce is another Reds player in a terrific spot against Jordan Lyles. As mentioned above, Lyles is a bad righty that has struggled to keep lefties at ease with a .353 wOBA in 2015. Bruce has hit 151 with multiple home runs in 17 games. Bruce is more of a tournament play as he can strikeout 3 times or hit 2 home runs.

Consider - Jason Heyward, Miguel Sano, Curtis Granderson, David Peralta, Billy Hamilton

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